Delays in NHS mental health treatment ‘ruining lives’

People with mental health problems are waiting so long for NHS care they are ending up jobless, divorced or in financial distress because of the delay, according to a report.

A Royal College of Psychiatrists survey of the experience of 500 diagnosed mental health patients found that some had waited up to 13 years to get the treatment they needed.

“It is a scandal that patients are waiting so long for treatment”, said Prof Wendy Burn, the college’s president. “The failure to give people with mental illnesses the prompt help they need is ruining their lives.”

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